Tim Hortons fuels the 'Canadian Dream' in new campaign

In the still early days of Canada’s trade war with the U.S. when calls to “Buy Canadian” neared their loudest, some in media (and social media) pointed out that despite being woven into the fabric of the country, Tim Hortons’ was not actually a Canadian company anymore. 

On March 19, CBC asked Is Tim Hortons Canadian? in an article following a Tims social post declaring the company was “proudly Canadian” sparked backlash. The next day Newsweek ran a story about Tim Hortons’ Canadian bona fides under the headline: Trump's Tariffs Souring Canadians' Love of Tim Hortons.

That is perhaps why, while other brands were running ads proclaiming their Canadian-ness, Tim Hortons did not. Until Thursday.  

“With the long weekend ahead, we wanted to share a message that celebrates our country and what connects us,” said Tim Hortons CMO Hope Bagozzi in an email. “We knew we wanted our message to bring to life Canada’s unique culture. A bit more Canadian pride is a good thing, and that sentiment is more relevant than ever.”

“The Canadian Dream” is a 60-second love letter to the country, delivered by Kiefer Sutherland. The ad, which was created by Gut, has been posted to YouTube and will run during the NHL playoff broadcasts this weekend. “How come we never talk about the Canadian Dream,” is Sutherland’s provocative question to open the spot, implicitly setting up a Canada vs. the U.S. subtext for the rest of the ad.

“The idea of The Canadian Dream was a provocation from creative conversations between our team and the agency,” said Bagozzi. “It’s a message that immediately resonated with all of us and it felt like a message that needed to be shared.”

Sutherland answers his opening question by explaining that the country is already a dream realized. “The Canadian dream isn't some far away ideal we only talk about, it's right here and it's all around.” Visually, the spot presents like a road trip across the country, with each scene shot as if from a car rolling through Canadian cities, towns and countryside from coast to coast.

“The visuals blend scenic imagery from across the country to make sure as much of Canada is represented, along with a few scenes—like hospitals and airports—common settings where Canadians are often looking for a sense of connection,” said Bagozzi.  

There’s a few glimpses of Tim Hortons coffee cups, embedded like product placement, but it’s not until the closing few seconds when Tim Hortons’ real role is revealed. 

As the road tripper POV moves to a Tim Hortons drive-thru, Sutherland ties it all together: “The Canadian dream lives on every corner of this land, and at Tims we're proud to fuel it,” he says. There's no "Proudly Canadian" or "We are Canadian," but a closing Tim Hortons logo where the usual “Always Fresh” tagline is replaced by “Always Yours.” 

Bagozzi said Tims actually introduced the new "Always Yours" line earlier this year in the Frozen Quenchers campaign and most recently in our Smile Cookie commercial.